"The Lord Be Magnified!" Psalm 40:16-17

Text: “…Let such as love Thy Salvation say continually, The Lord be magnified.”

                                                                                                                    Psalm 40:16b.

Good morning Christ-exalting Christian!  In ‘good’ days and ‘bad’ days, yet in every day – you and I are able to cry out in faith, ‘The Lord be magnified!’  Praise God it is so, my friend; for it is a sure sign of genuine, God-given faith, to see souls professing the Name of Christ Jesus being able to overcome all depressions, oppressions, and hindrances and still able to shout the praises of our glorious and all-Victorious Lord God.  Hallelujah!  Let us bow down and worship in His Holy and Magnificent Presence, exalting His Holy Name.  Amen.

The ability to rejoice in times of dreadful sorrow, persecutions, afflictions, serious illnesses, danger, or pain – is a sure sign of faith that has been given by God Himself; a faith that is standing the test of time and tribulations.  God-given faith is the only sure faith to practice.  All else is mere ‘religion’, not worth the daily practice.  True faith is the Divine gift of God and only given to ‘His people’ for their soul’s Salvation.

“For by grace and are ye saved though faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works (we can’t work it up ourselves!), lest any man/woman should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

We who are elected to Salvation by God the Father; quickened in time by God the Spirit; and saved in time, and for Eternity, by the Lord Jesus Christ – are first granted the faith necessary to put full and unconditional trust in Christ Jesus and what He has achieved for us at Calvary’s Cross.  His Sacrifice of full Atonement for our sins, is all-sufficient to appease the wrath of our Heavenly Father against our sin.  Therefore, no matter what comes or goes in this life – we have the justified ability to exalt the Name of the Lord; to love His Salvation; and to ‘…say continually, The Lord be magnified!’  Hallelujah!  What a God-given blessing to mere sinful wretches such as we!

Dictionary Definition: Magnify -  (verb transitive) to make great or greater; to enlarge; to cause to appear greater; to exaggerate; to praise highly…; to extol… (The Chambers Dictionary, page 967)

Thus, we who ‘love the Salvation of the Lord’ are Divinely enabled to ‘magnify’ His Name ‘continually’!  If we were not saved, if we did not love the Salvation of the Lord in this truly personal manner; we would not be able of ourselves to magnify the Name of the Lord continually!  Life, with all its anti-Christian hindrances; temptations of our sin-prone flesh; and the cruel oppositions of our arch-enemy, Satan, would smoother our joy, and make us incapable of exalting, or magnifying the Living Lord God as our Saviour, Lord, and Divine Friend.

Magnifying, exalting, the Lord in open praise and worship, is a characteristic belonging to a soul that has been genuinely regenerated from Spiritual death to full Spiritual life by God the Holy Ghost.  What a blessing to know we are truly SAVED!  Hallelujah!  Praise the Lord God Who has redeemed our never-dying souls!  The Lord be magnified in praise!

Verse 16.  “Let all those that seek Thee rejoice and be glad in Thee. He groaned that we might sing and was covered with a bloody sweat that we might be anointed with the oil of gladness.”           (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 197)

Sinners, such as you and I, are at all times called of God to be like Christ.  This is what makes us ‘Christians’.  Therefore, IF we are to be ‘as Christ’; it naturally follows that we are called to suffer in some lesser degree as He has fully suffered for us on that Cross.  When we can praise God, and magnify His Name while we are enduring all manner of temporal suffering – then we prove to the on-looking world that we are indeed what we say we are: ‘born again’ Christians.  What Divine logic!

There is no such state as ‘comfortable Christianity’.  No!  We, true regenerate Christians, have a bounden duty to expect to ‘suffer’ in the service of Christ Who endured infinite suffering for us.  God’s Word has the last word on this subject.

“For unto you (true Christians) it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” (Philippians 1:29)

Committed Christians who are seen to be suffering in many ways, yet continually rejoicing and magnifying the Name of our Saviour/Lord, are a proof-positive that our Divine Salvation is true and genuine.  Our faith has been God-given, and thus nothing can separate us from worshipping and exalting the Name of our Redeemer Lord in praise!

“Nay, in all these things we are more that conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature (including ourselves!), shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:37-39)  Hallelujah!  Let us magnify the Lord God!

The Lord God never loses sight of us, ‘His people’.  His thoughts are ever upon us, no matter what situation or peril, or plight we are in at any given time.  Praise God!

Verse 17. “Yet the Lord thinketh (the continual verb, i.e. thinks, and continually thinks) upon me.  He that turns the hearts of kings like rivers at His pleasure turns all the little brooks in the world into what scorched and parched ground He pleases.”  (Samuel Lee 1625-1691)

“Again, observe the efficiency of His thoughts.  He Who thinks upon you is a God at hand and not afar off; He has all events under His control; He is the God of all grace.” (William Jay 1769-1853)

Thought:  “Make no tarrying, O my God.” “O Lord, Make haste to help me.” The Lord’s care for us is continual, and His timing is always perfect.  Trust Him.